Tabs

SEARCH This Website

THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF HINDI FILMS

By Swanand Kirkire(Edited by Mayank Shekher for the MAMI Film Festival)

I
remember when I was a newcomer to Hindi films, I had met the iconic
actor-filmmaker Kamal Hassan at a social function. He had then mentioned
to me that, over the years, movies in India had worked for us simply as
a magic show. Most people watched moving images on silver screen more
as theatre audiences experiencing magic playing out before their eyes –
without knowing or thinking of the technology that went behind bringing
those images to life. With the explosion of technology in later decades,
this illusion of magic slowly began to fade away, and cinema 2000
onwards, I suspect, started to reflect that change.

The content of
movies also changed alongside, leaving behind the magic world, and
coming closer to reality. Technology allowed us to come into contact
with reality in the most enticing ways as well. During this decade hence
filmmakers strived to come closer and closer still to reality. That
quest is still on.

This tech revolution coincided also with the
advent of posh, urban multiplexes in India, which was partly responsible
for dividing cinema into two distinct categories, popularly known as
“multiplex” and “single screen” movies. Till the nineties, popular
cinema was a wholesome package, which used to have something for each
section of society, and sometimes for different regions. Filmmakers
during the next or new decade were inclined to make films without
conforming to the stated notion and parameters of this “wholesome
entertainment”. They tried to stay close to the authenticity of the
story, and their characters.

So, in the beginning of the
millennium, while there were movies like Aditya Chopra’s old-world
blockbuster Mohabbatein and Anil Sharma’s hardcore, jingoistic Gadar,
there were also Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama centred on sports,
Lagaan (which went on to be nominated to the Oscars), and Farhan
Akhtar’s yuppie, yet relatively realistic Dil Chahta Hai, which set the
trend for similar urbane movies in the following years.

You could
easily sense, the directors were striving for change. Actors were
striving for change. So were the audiences. We laughed at our own
traditional clichés, and we tried to break conventions, whether it was
in music, cinematography, editing, or sound. The directors were not as
keen anymore to use songs as storytelling devices, an idiom that has
been unique to Indian cinema since the inception of talkies. The
storytellers didn’t shy away to explore their nation’s own past but they
used it to communicate contemporary ideas. In 2006, Rajkumar Hirani’s
Lage Raho Munnabhai and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti
brought back past Indian heroes and their values – from Mahatma Gandhi
to Chandrashekhar Azad – in a modern context, while keeping all popular
elements of entertainment alive. Both films were received well by
audiences and critics alike. We can say that the world-view and themes
explored in India’s New Wave or parallel cinema of the 1970s and ‘80s
had made a comeback in the 2000 decade, with new style and flavor, and
entirely as mainstream ideas.

While Bollywood’s second generation
filmmakers like Aditya Chopra ( son of the prolific, top
producer-director Yash Chopra, who’s been around for over five decades),
Karan Johar (son of producer Yash Chopra), Farhan Akhtar (son of
lyricist and India’s top screenwriter Javed Akhtar) were telling stories
derived from their rich film backgrounds, directors like Rajkumar
Hirani (Munnabhai, 3 Idiots), Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met, Rockstar), Rakeysh
Mehra, Vishal Bhardwaj (Maqbool, Omkara) and Anurag Kashyap (DevD,
Gangs Of Wasseypur) made a mark by bringing in raw narratives derived
from their small town backgrounds. Hindi cinema certainly and suddenly
had more colour.

In 2001 Indian cinema business was granted
“industry status” by the government. This completely transformed the
financing and distribution patterns of Hindi movies. The film industry
was no more a glory hole where you could potentially stack up black
money. Corporate funding was a welcome change. The movie business, which
was known for its supposed use of illegitimate wealth, became open to
the accountant and shareholder’s scrutiny. Now one didn’t need to pander
to the fancies and whims of underworld dons or bhais. The business was
handled by professionals.

However, in this whole process, one
thing didn’t change: The magic of the stars. Instead the stars were
becoming instrumental in Bollywood’s quest for change. An actor like
Shah Rukh Khan, while wooing audiences with his charm in Karan Johar’s
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham or Farah Khan’s Main Hoon Na, would step out to
do a realistic character in Shimit Amin’s Chak De India. Aamir Khan
would direct and act in a sensitive Taare Zameen Par, while still ruling
the box office in a mad actioner Ghajini. In the midst all this, there
was yet Salman Khan who would stand up like Dabaang, and scream at our
faces, “Bro, movies are all about magic!”

The Hindi Cinema Blog would like to heartily thank highly talented lyricist Swanand Kirkire and renowned critic Mayank Shekhar for their valuable contribution and for allowing the posting of this article in our blog.

5 comments:

Swanand sir, I'm a big fan of you and your work. Love the lyrics you write for films and also the dialogues you come up with. Adore your voice. You're amongst one of the finest and most talented people of Bollywood.

with the advent of technology and people coming with better ideas, the scope of experiment in our Indian film industry has broadened. Regardless of its acceptance, either by critics or audiences, films like The Lunch Box and Chennai Express are scoring. So, its a welcomed change. I would break no bones with the fact about what Gandhi said .. no matter how insignificant what you do is,, the most important part is to DO IT.

Lovely to read your comment. Yes, I agree that the scope of Indian cinema is indeed getting larger by the day. I like to also think of cinema by the Indian diaspora as Indian and it also has a very different "feel" to it. Please visit us often :)